Saturday, March 26, 2011

Not a Beach, Not Baja

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So this picture looks like we’re at a beach today, right? Sand dunes and all. Or maybe we’re back in Morocco on a camel trek in the Sahara Desert like last October.  Oh, that’s right . . . the sand here is white, and there’s no water, so it can’t really be a beach or Baja or Morocco, can it?

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This morning we left our beautiful spot at City of Rocks, New Mexico and drove about 100 miles east to Las Cruces, New Mexico where we set up camp, then drove another 30 miles just north of Alamogordo (think nuclear missile testing facility) to White Sands National Monument.

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This place rises from the heart of the Tularosa Basin in the form of glistening white dunes of gypsum sand engulfing 275 square miles of desert making up the world's largest gypsum dune field.

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Unfortunately, we visited this place on a Saturday rather than a weekday. There were hordes of pick-up trucks bringing young men with their dune boarding equipment, and lots of families with young children sledding down the sand. It’s not that we object to other people enjoying the same places we enjoy; it’s just that the crowds alter the pristine-looking nature of the views. Many of the groups even set up shade devices along with barbecues to cook a picnic lunch.

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We hiked up a few dunes, took some photos, and drove the loop into the furthest reaches of the place. It’s pretty awesome.

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